These Are Your Favorite Summer Driving Songs

Unless you frequent private karaoke venues or vast desolate prairie expanses of empty, echoing nothingness, your car is probably the only place where you don’t really have restrictions on the volume at which you listen to your music. A car is a place for cranking your stereo, singing along to your heart’s content, and parking without embarrassment for who might have heard. But as the mercury rises and the vibes improve as summer comes around, what will you be listening to in your car?

Earlier this week, we asked you for your favorite summer driving songs. Today, we’re combing through your answers to pick out our favorites. Throw them together into a playlist if you’d like, or grab your personal picks to play on repeat until you arrive at your summer destinations — always just a bit hoarser than when you left. Let’s see what kinds of music all you beautiful Jalops are into. 

There’s one thing I really miss about living in the LA area (and this leads to the song choice.) I miss the warm June evenings with the sun starting to set over the Santa Monica pier. The ocean breeze picks up a little bit and takes away some of the heat of the day. The top goes down and the stereo gets turned up. And Jim Morrison belts out “LA Woman” like the worn out blues man that he wanted to become.

My musical tastes were formed in the 1980s so my driving playlists have a lot of Depeche Mode, INXS, Tears for Fears, and if I’m in the mood to violate some speed laws and rupture some eardrums, launch into the intro of Paradise City and hang on. There’s some country roads to conquer.

The Ed Sullivan scene of the Doors movie has lived rent-free in my head for approximately my entire life. RIP to Val Kilmer, truly. 

Submitted by: Xavier96

I don’t know why, but the beginning to Talking Heads “I Zimbra” sounds like the soundtrack to the beginning of an Italian Job-style heist scene. Everybody makes their last preparations, looks at some plot-related memento, and starts their engines. And then the heist begins in earnest. I always feel a little cooler when that song comes on while I’m driving, or better yet, walking to my car.

I am very excited for someone to come in here and show me a clip of exactly this, perhaps even in that very-unnecessary remake of The Italian Job.

Hey, I liked that remake! The fact that I was seven when it came out surely doesn’t factor in. 

Submitted by: Give Me Tacos or Give Me Death

There is no better song to drop the windows (and the top/t-tops/targa top) and cruise to than Panama by Van Halen.

Feel the sun, drum on the steering wheel, and sing along with your friends. Heck, if you pull up next to me blasting Panama, I’ll probably turn my music down and sing along!!

“Panama” goes hard as hell and anyone who disagrees is simply, objectively, wrong. 

Submitted by: Stillnotatony

Radar Love, original version or the equally good White Lion cover.

Hey! No self-promo!

Submitted by: Golden Earring

Hollywood Nights, Bob Seger.

Sure, it’s dad-rock. Sure, it’s old. But, with the windows down on a summer night, it’s sublime.

I feel like this AOTD is going to be really helpful in terms of putting titles and artists that I grew up listening to on classic rock radio. “Hollywood Nights” was a mainstay of 95.1 WRKI Brookfield-Danbury, A Cumulus Media Station, The Home Of Rock And Roll, I-95. 

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

The Cars: Moving in Stereo/All Mixed Up

Not sure its my favorite, but it has to be near the top for summer driving.

“Moving In Stereo” is pretty downtempo for a summer vibe, but maybe Rapchat is thinking more in the top-down-cruise-at-sunset vein. 

Submitted by: Rapchat

Ventura Highway – Immaculate summer vibes and alligator lizards in the air is one of the greatest lines in any song ever

I’ll be honest here, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard an America track besides “A Horse With No Name.” 

Submitted by: AlligatorLizard

Isn’t Joe Satriani’s Summer Song the only correct answer???

As a former Ibanez player, I’m legally mandated to listen to this track all the way through in the course of writing this AOTD. They make you sign a contract when you buy the guitar. 

Submitted by: Smricha2

Life is a Highway by Tom Cochran. Was on a family road trip as a kid and heard it all the time it seemed like when the song came out.

With how overplayed “Life Is A Highway” is, I’m genuinely shocked it only came out in 1991. I thought it had another couple decades on it. 

Submitted by: Max Alfa 4C

So many to choose from, but one of my long-standing favorites is “Interstate Love Song” by Stone Temple Pilots.

Just a wonderfully simple and calm guitar riff overlayed with silky smooth (and very singable) vocals make it a perfect soundtrack for a good cruise.

It was originally written to be a bossa-nova type song. It got changed a good bit throughout the writing process, but still kept a lot of that relaxed sound characteristic of bossa nova.

Now this one’s a throwback for me personally, as one of my dad’s go-to guitar songs when I was a kid. 

Submitted by: Stubb063

During the summer day?

Probably something normal like ride of the valkyries (classical music) or leave it on some local music station

At night? Definitely something in the synthwave genre originally from before my time lol… newer artists like carpenter brut and kavinsky has some solid hits, and gunship and etc… definitely had more than a few nights cruising/speeding around to this before.

I’m sorry, something normal like “Ride Of The Valkyries”? I’m all in on the synthwave, but Richard Wagner is normal casual listening for you?

Submitted by: Killerhurtalot

Tonight I feel ambitious and so does my foot as it sinks on the pedal, I press it to the floor.

I don’t need a girl, don’t need a friend, cuz my friend lonesome’s unconditional we’re flying forever bored

For a moment I love everything I see and think and feel I love my broke side view mirror

Cuz it’s so perfect, I’m so perfect, you’re so perfect, you’re not here

I hear the change is gear

My pile shakes as I hit 80 on the open road. This is an open road song….

EVE6 – Open Road Song is up there among the best.

Max from Eve 5 follows me on Bluesky and I’ll be sure to tell him our commenters are singing his praises. 

Submitted by: potbellyjoe

It’s not summer yet, and I had absolutely no summer last year, so I have to pull if from my memory of the summer 2023. And that year, it was $20 and Not Strong Enough by boygenius. They are so fantastic

Personally, I’m a big fan of having a motorcycle in your front lawn. More people should listen to boygenius, I think. Both as music and as advice-givers. 

Submitted by: J.B.2.1.

Foghat – Slow Ride. Gotta love the riff, take it easy, take it sleazy.

Ah, memories of Guitar Hero 3. I remember being able to fully walk out of the room with a wireless guitar controller, playing on Hard, and not fail song. Good times. 

Submitted by: dolor

Last year was Not like us and Houdini by Eminem. Let’s see what the summer has to show us!

SAY DRAKE. 

Submitted by: Noturbestfriend